Saturday, January 29, 2011

Another heavyweight of the Italian soundtrack, Armando Trovaioli has composed for over 200 films. His soundtrack for Una Magnum Special Per Tony Saitta is absolutely one of the best Poliziotteschi scores ever, which pretty much makes it one of the greatest overall. Check out the track Blazing Magnum:

Monday, January 3, 2011

Kirkman keeps the tension high as the survivors begin to assimilate and splinter within their new community. These can't come fast enough.

Mac Carter-The Strange Adventures of H.P. Lovecraft Vol. 1Quirky, but unsatisfying comic about H.P.Lovecraft and the fictional origins of some of his stories. I'm a huge Lovecraft fan, and that might be a detractor here as it is hard to swallow Lovecraft as the individual portrayed within. I'll give Vol. 2 a shot and reappraise.

Neil Gaiman-The Graveyard BookNeil Gaiman is a supremely talented storyteller. Combine that with his obvious erudition and you get some damn fine books. The Graveyard Book, geared for younger readers, is a clever and fun read throughout.

Edward Anderson-Thieves Like UsEarly noir novel is good, simple storytelling that, in many ways, is similar to Bonnie and Clyde. I really enjoyed the characters speech, cadence, and dialect. This was filmed as They Live By Night is 1948, and again by Robert Altman in 1974.

Boris and Arkady Strugatsky-Hard To Be A GodThis Strugatsky novel is set on a planet that has not yet advanced beyond a phase similar to our Middle Ages. Envoys from Earth have become assimilated to observe, but not interact. Though they are sickened by the barbaric society they observe, they are forbidden from intervening, hence the title. The novel's central ideas explore how the progress of science and civilization is often stymied by religious and magisterial oppression.

Dan Simmons-IliumI've read a lot of Dan Simmons and this was really one of my favorite novels by him. A seriously epic space opera that is concluded in an even longer sequel entitled Olympos. I'm not even going to attempt a plot synopsis here, but suffice it to say that if big scope, epic sci-fi is your thing, you'll probably like this.